* The safety of the University of Minnesota's students, faculty, staff, and visitors has always been, and will remain, a top priority. The University supports the construction of an underground tunnel in the design of a central corridor light rail line on Washington Avenue, and the resolution aligns well with the University's central corridor design principle that states, "Safety is fundamental to the successful operations of the Central Corridor."

Resolution
on a Central Corridor Tunnel

WHEREAS,
the Central Corridor Light Rail Line will be going through the University of
Minnesota, Twin Cities Campus on Washington Avenue; and

WHEREAS,
a considerable percentage of the ridership on the Central Corridor Line will be
University of Minnesota students, employees, and visitors; and

WHEREAS,
according to the Federal Railroad Administration, "deaths in grade crossing
accidents are the second-leading category of deaths associated with
railroading"[1]
and "elimination of at-grade crossings...offers the greatest long-term promise
for optimizing the safety and efficiency of the two modes of
transportation"[2]
(trains and motor vehicles); and

WHEREAS,
the benefits of a tunnel appreciably outweigh the added upfront material costs;
and

WHEREAS,
a tunnel under Washington Avenue for the Central Corridor cannot be added once
the line is completed without significant cost and construction; therefore

BE
IT RESOLVED, that the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly supports
the plan for the Central Corridor Light Rail Line to go through campus via an
underground tunnel on Washington Avenue.